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As a self-employed mobile hairdresser, Tamsin Bryan's business costs are low. With no landlord and outgoing costs to worry about, she knows that financially things will be OK when the government's self-employed help package is delivered in June.

But there is less certainty about how her business will cope in the long run. Tamsin, who has worked as a hairdresser for 17 years, is also a wedding hair stylist. So far, she has had seven weddings cancelled between March and June. Each would have earned her between £300 and £500.

Even if she does return to work as soon as lockdown is lifted, the uncertainty around when weddings will resume may have a longer impact on her business this year.

"I know when all this is over I will be fine, I will be really busy. My business isn't going to collapse. But in the meantime I am not making any money," said the 32-year-old from Barry.

Tamsin takes her dog Jimmy to work with her (Image: Tamsin Bryan)

Tamsin said she has often got teary because she misses her job: "All my clients are like my counsellors, we have really good chats, we are more like friends. I have been so overwhelmed, lots of people have said they can't wait to have me back."

Despite not knowing how long she will be unable to work for, Tamsin has started to look at what precautions she can put in place for when she is able to work again: "I have thought of wearing a mask and disposable gowns. I always wash and disinfect my tools anyway but that will be ramped up. I don't really know what else I can do."

As a mobile hairdresser, Tamsin said she may face the difficulty of being unable to control the cleanliness of her workspace, because her workspace is other people's homes.

She said: "I would have to find out if anyone has flown home from somewhere or if they were still working, I'd have to consider all those things. I think I will do it in my own time. We are so close contact, that's why I stopped before lockdown was announced."

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One thing Tamsin has started to do in preparation is write up a new diary, rearranging planned events and looking to schedule in clients as she knows how desperate people are to have their haircut.

Tamsin said she will go back to work when she feels comfortable doing so (Image: Tamsin Bryan)

To help her clients in the only way she can at the moment, Tamsin has also created hair tutorials on Facebook, showing how to do a quick fringe trim and hair updo.

Like Tamsin, hairdresser and salon owner Sarah Worthing is coping financially due to financial support from the government but as a relatively new business owner the disruption in trade is likely to set back the salon's progress for around six months.

"I have been open for around 16 months, I was really still trying to build it up into something," she said

"When I first opened I had a kind of three-year plan to develop it into something but obviously this has changed things now."

Sarah has been cutting hair for nearly 19 years and decided she would open her own salon, Kalon Hair Studio in Cardiff, just over two years ago. After finding a place to rent, it took Sarah around five months to renovate the space ready for use.

Sarah Worthing opened her salon 16 months ago (Image: Sarah Worthing)

"We ended up doing a lot of work. I am still trying to make the money back that I spent on the salon. I felt like we were just about to see a new curve, things were busy and I was looking to take on another stylist or two but obviously that has gone out the window now."

Despite the disruption, Sarah is confident that in the short term the grant which she received fairly quickly after applying to Cardiff council will be enough to cover the costs of the salon and her one member of staff for at least three months.

The 35-year-old, originally from Swansea, is also confident that the shop will be really busy as soon as it opens, but does have concerns over how social distancing will affect her business.

Sarah did an extensive renovation on the salon before opening and is still making that money back (Image: Sarah Worthing)

"We have five stations in the salon so we before we closed I had already made sure we were distancing ourselves and I had started to give more time between clients to clean things through but there may be a profit loss if it has to continue for a long time," she said.

"If I spread out appointments I won't be able to see as many clients each day but the costs will stay the same, so there's a lot of uncertainty about how things are going to work, you just have to try and switch off and take things day by day."

As Sarah works in a small team, social distancing measures should be relatively easy to put in place but the challenge for larger salons may be a bigger one.

Sarah's salon has plenty of room for social distancing measures (Image: Sarah Worthing)

Ian Davies has owned Ocean Salon in Cardiff for 23 years and has 16 stylists. Financially, his team and business are covered by furlough and the business grant, but he is worried it won't be the same for many other hairdressers and salons.

"Mobile hairdressers, people who rent a chair, they may not be eligible for any of the support. I think it is going to be a bit of a reset for the industry as a whole," said the 55-year-old.

Ian, who is originally from Merthyr and has 41 years of experience in the industry has penciled in a provisional date for that reset to begin at his own salon, and said if the government allows, his shop will be ready to open with full social distancing measures in place on May 18.

"We are looking at getting PPE and we are going to get disposable towels so clients aren't sharing," he said.

Ian has over 40 years experience in the business (Image: Keith Davies Photography)

As well as bringing in PPE, disposable items and a rigorous cleaning routine between clients, Ian has also completely re-written his rota. Opening hours will be longer but there will be three teams each working four-hour shifts throughout the day. This way clients can be spread throughout the salon, allowing better social distancing between clients. It will also mean that staff members will each see a small amount of clients each day, limiting the contact they make with multiple people.

This also means staff will be working 28 hours a week instead of 37.5. Appointments will also be spread out so there is no one waiting in the shop and customers will be expected to hang their own coats.

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In the meantime, he has carried on working with his partnered brands, giving online talks and seminars but said he is staying far away from any online hair tutorials and urged customers not to mess with their hair while they can't get to a salon, insisting the wait will be worth it.

Self-employed hairdresser Molly Lane has also urged her loyal customers to do the same.

The 24-year-old from Barry has also started to think about how she can implement the best health and safety standards for her customers in her home salon. Being a lone worker with a salon set up in her conservatory, it should be easier for her to practice social distancing: "I work one to one anyway and I am lucky I have that separate space, I think it would be easier for me to go back to it because its just me."

Molly works in her home salon alone (Image: Molly Lane)

Molly has been doing tutorials to show her clients how to re-create her signature wave (Image: Molly Lane)

Unfortunately, Molly says she hasn't been able to qualify for any self-employed support but has managed to maintain some form of income by continuing to sell salon products.

"My motto has always been don't bite off more than you can chew because things like this can happen and getting your hair done isn't always everyone's top priority," she said.

"I have tried to keep myself busy by doing product orders on Instagram. Obviously you buy the products in and then sell them at a different retail price but I have been making sure that this means my customers still get a better deal than elsewhere but I can make a little bit from it. I have a very loyal client base because I have built up trust with them. I feel confident that I am going to come out of this and it will all be OK."